Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is once again pressuring the Republican National Committee to change the format of its debate after declining viewership in the previous three matchups.
“This January Republican debate should be on X, not cable TV, moderated by Tucker [Carlson]that could simply ask questions that primary voters really care about,” Ramaswamy said in a statement to The Post on Friday.
“They say they want to reach younger voters and new audiences? Well, that’s how it’s done,” added the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur.
The first Republican primary debate, hosted by Fox News Channel and held on August 23 in Milwaukee, averaged 12.8 million viewers.
The second debate, held on September 27 in Simi Valley, California and hosted by Fox Business Network, garnered 9.5 million viewers, while the third debate, hosted by NBC News on November 8 in Miami, received an average of 7.51 million viewers.
Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News on Nov. 8, 2023, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami.AP
The RNC did not immediately respond to a Post question about Ramaswamy’s proposal.
The White House hopeful had made the same criticism in his opening remarks during the Miami debate, arguing that Carlson, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk should moderate the debates to attract “ten times the audience.”
Ramaswamy’s campaign has previously asked the Republican National Committee to amend its debate guidelines to include a single moderator who “is capable of enforcing the debate rules” and to increase the unique donor threshold from 70,000 to 100,000 to eliminate lower performing candidates.
Republican presidential candidates (LR), former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and US Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) participate in the debate NBC News Republican presidential primaries in November. September 8, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images
Ramaswamy has also gone toe-to-toe with Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, calling on her to resign following a series of poor Republican election results.
The fourth debate will take place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 6.
The event will be hosted and broadcast by NewsNation and moderated by former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas of NewsNation and Eliana Johnson of The Washington Free Beacon.
In an unusual move, the debate will also air live on the CW Network only in the Eastern and Central time zones.
Ramaswamy asks X, formerly Twitter, to host the debate to reach more viewers. AFP via Getty Images
The debate stage will have fewer candidates than in Miami, due to higher rating benchmarks and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) dropping out of the race on Nov. 12.
Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley could qualify for the Alabama debate.
Former President Donald Trump is unlikely to attend.
The dates and locations of future debates have not yet been announced, but Republicans are expected to hold at least one additional debate before the Iowa caucuses on January 15 and the New Hampshire primary on January 23.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn